Chapter 107: Chapter 107 Human Sentiments

“Of course not,” Anthony Hopkins laughed first after hearing this, “Honestly, ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is also a great film. I specifically went to the cinema to see it. If it weren’t for your being too young, who knows who would have won?”

“Such a hypothesis is meaningless, Anthony,” Demi immediately said, eliciting a round of laughter.

“Maybe I should invite Adrian to do an interview with ‘Vanity Fair’ about how a genius director feels after a downfall,” Tina Brown said, eyeing Adrian, “I believe everyone would be interested.”

“Oh, spare me, Tina. I can almost see the mockery from the journalists tomorrow,” Adrian said exaggeratedly, “Let’s talk about it after the Oscar fever has cooled down, if you haven’t changed your mind by then.”

“I’ll consider it,” the editor-in-chief of ‘Vanity Fair’ nodded, her previous words merely a formality which Adrian recognized, thus he gave her an out, and now she was just going along with it.

“By the way, Tina, have you guys ever considered throwing a party after the Oscars?” Adrian suddenly asked with a meaningful smile, “A ‘Vanity-Fair’-themed party after the award ceremony would easily attract many celebrities with your influence; reporters could stay outside but not come in, and the stars could show off themselves…”

“We could turn this party into a brand, making it the most attractive spot after the Oscar ceremony! Being a part of this party would signify status and honor, just like the people standing in front of me right now!” Brown’s eyes sparkled as she continued, “Has anyone ever told you, you’re a genius, Adrian!”

“Many people have,” Adrian shrugged.

“Sorry, I need to leave for a bit.” Brown didn’t mind his joking tone, apologized, and quickly walked away, apparently very inspired by what Adrian had just suggested.

“You’re really something, Ed. Not many people can touch this woman’s heart,” Demi gave him a thumbs up.

“I only mentioned it; she thought of all that herself,” Adrian shrugged again.

Even without him, ‘Vanity Fair’ would have hosted the Oscar party next year anyway, and once it started, it would continue for over a decade, becoming the most public attention-grabbing event after the Oscars and a hotbed for many gossip and scandals. So, why shouldn’t Adrian seize the opportunity to do a favor? After all, it sometimes comes in handy, and…

After Tina Brown left, their small group dispersed, and Adrian quickly caught up with the newly-crowned Best Actor: “Hey, Anthony, remember what we talked about at last year’s Berlin Film Festival?”

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“The Berlin Film Festival last year?” Hopkins reflected for a moment and then asked with some surprise after a few minutes, “What, the genius director wants to make a movie with me?”

“Yes, a very interesting movie,” Adrian said with a smile.

“If I remember correctly, you still have one movie that hasn’t finished production, right?” Hopkins arched an eyebrow, “They said you’re a workaholic, I didn’t believe it, but now it seems… it’s really true.”

“Don’t worry, this movie won’t start shooting until at least the summer vacation, I guarantee you’ll be interested, it’s adapted from a novel by Edward Morgan Foster!”

***************************************

Alone, Adrian came out onto the balcony, stretched his body against the cool breeze, and recalled Hopkins’s expression when he heard the name of the novel, shaking his head and chuckling softly. He thought about it, a director known for his cult style wanting to make a typical Victorian English film, it was as odd as Marilyn Monroe starring in ‘Roman Holiday.’

However, Hopkins, despite subtly expressing his doubts, did not outright refuse, which was probably related to Adrian’s achievements over the past two years, as well as the cues that had highly impressed Tina Brown. Adrian didn’t continue persuading either, now was not the time; in two months’ time, he would have a better chance.

Speaking of which, this year was indeed busy, his own final planned film goes without saying, it had to be completed within 4 months. The collaboration with Disney on ‘Casper,’ though nearly finished, still required effort to catch the tail end of the summer release; Drew Barrymore’s ‘Guncrazy’ was almost done, but if it turned out well, he’d need to secure her a Golden Globe nomination by year end–since it was a deal, it had to be completed; as for ‘Twisters,’ the script department had finished the script and was just waiting for preparation; only the investment in ‘Jurassic Park’ was the least stressful, entirely in Spielberg’s hands, and who knew if he would start planning his next film right after finishing.

Even so, Adrian was still planning after the Oscars to court Cameron with ‘True Lies,’ using the opportunity of attending the ‘Silence of the Lambs’ celebration party to discuss ‘Philadelphia Story’ with Demi–of course, the latter’s courting target was someone else, given that he had secured the adaptation rights for that novel.

“Can’t really stay idle,” Adrian muttered somewhat self-deprecatingly. But ‘Philadelphia Story’ and ‘True Lies’ didn’t need to be rushed, the former gave Demi more than a year which was enough, as long as it was released before the end of next year; as for ‘True Lies,’ there was even more time, but given that madman’s temperament, the investment wouldn’t be less than 100 million US Dollars, and Bossworth Film couldn’t currently afford that much capital and would probably need to bring in other film companies.

Speaking of which, it seemed he’d spread himself a bit too thin with movies, maybe he could temporarily put off ‘Twisters’ until next year? Anyway, that film didn’t need to be rushed, and as for Kate, Adrian had a new role for her. Moreover, it was time to talk to Claude, although he had trusted him and had not inquired about the Russian side of things for a long time, it was about time he got some updates, which would also help in planning for the future.

This year was very important, even if only 80% of the plans were completed, the future would still be broader, so this bit of busyness was really nothing, and when you really thought about it, it wasn’t even that busy. Thinking this, Adrian pinched his fingers, enjoying that feeling of controlling everything.

Just then, a familiar yet hesitant voice came from behind, “Hi, Ed.”

“Julie?” Adrian, turning around, looked at the lady before him with a surprised expression, not hiding the admiration in his eyes, “I’m really surprised, meeting you at the ‘Silence of the Lambs’ celebration party.”

“Yes, I am too, meeting you here,” Julia Roberts, still in her white evening gown, slowly walked up to Adrian, “By the way, I haven’t yet told you–this is nothing, Ed…” (Wow, it’s over 5000 words, dare to add more?)